HC summons officials for encroachments at monuments
MCD, DDA and NDMC asked to file status reports
New Delhi, January 24
Expressing displeasure over non-removal of illegal occupation from monuments in the Capital, the Delhi High Court today summoned Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Government and Superintending Engineer of Archaeological Survey of India
to be present in the court on the next date of hearing.

Water, power crises hit Faridabad hard
Faridabad, January 24
Several residential areas of the city and the district have been faced with an acute shortage of water supply. Residents are depending on private water suppliers and even on handpumps in many areas to get water for their daily use as heavy and long cuts in power supply have directly affected the water supply.

Illegal structures under MCD scanner
New Delhi, January 24
With Delhi High Court having directed that action be taken against influential people owning alleged illegal constructions, the MCD today said it was studying the legality of properties belonging to as many as 30 politicians.

Beating Retreat ceremony to feature new martial tunes
New Delhi, January 24
Three new indigenously composed martial tunes, underscored by the rhythm of the drummers and the plaintive chants of the bagpipers from the military bands of the three services will feature in the Beating Retreat ceremony this year.

Man fined Rs 8 lakh in cheque bounce case
New Delhi, January 24
With the aim to enhance the credibility of cheques as a medium of exchange, a city court has asked a man to pay up Rs 8.10 lakh as fine after he was found guilty of dishonouring of cheques.

R-Day security: Cyber cafes under watch
New Delhi, January 24
Taking no chances, Delhi Police has stepped up vigil at cyber cafes across the Capital in its efforts to track down terrorists planning attacks here on the occasion of Republic Day celebrations.

Activists of ‘Rahul-Priyanka brigade’ demonstrating against Samajwadi Party leader
Amar Singh's comments against Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the phone tapping case at Jantar Mantar in the Capital on Tuesday.
— Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal

Models displaying the creations of Indian designers during a fashion show at the 36th India International Garment Fair at Pragati Maidan in the Capital on Tuesday.
— Tribune photo by Rajeev Tyagi

School sites auctioned for Rs 103 cr by Huda
Gurgaon, January 24
Haryana Urban Development Authority today auctioned its 16 school sites at Rs 103 crore against the reserve price of Rs 29 crore.
Huda administrator S P Gupta informed that a five-acre plot in Sector 43 for school was sold at a price of Rs 40 crore against the reserve price of Rs 10 crore.

Kidnapped boy found in Faridabad
Faridabad, January 24
A five-year-old minor boy kidnapped from the Paharganj area in New Delhi on Sunday last was recovered from the NIT area here today.
The boy had perhaps been abducted for ransom, but the amount sought for his
release was not known. The police have arrested one person in this connection,
while four others have absconded.

Engineers robbed, villagers catch two robbers
Greater Noida, January 24
Four armed bandits on two motorcycles robbed two GNIDA engineers of their car, mobile phones and cash.
The bandits fled via Ghori Bachhera village when police barricaded the route.

Controversy marks elections for DLF RWA
Gurgaon, January 24
Mr R. S. Rathi has been elected president of DLF Qutab Enclave Resident Welfare Association for the third consecutive time.
Mr Rathi, with 690 votes defeated his rival, Mr D. B. Anand, who got only 235 votes.

Panchayat gives ruling for hiding caste
Bulandshahr, January 24
When three marriage parties reached the marriage venue in Bibi Nagar here they were welcomed with pomp and show and traditional warmth by the bride’s side.

Gang of hitch-hiker auto thieves busted
Noida, January 24
The police claim to have busted a gang whose modus operandi was to hitch a ride in a vehicle, give drug-laced eatables to the driver and conductor and then take away the vehicle.

High alert in UP border districts for R-Day
Noida-Ghaziabad, January 24
The UP police in Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar districts are on high alert in connection with Republic Day. The borders of these two UP districts with the national Capital will be sealed from tomorrow evening in connection with the Republic Day Parade on January 26.

Ghaziabad police plans FIRs via internet
Ghaziabad, January 24
Set to log on to cyberspace, the district police is planning to computerise all police stations and allow filing of first information reports via the internet - saving the common man a trip to the local ‘thana’.

Two elderly women found murdered
New Delhi, January 24
Two elderly women were found murdered in Mandawali area of East Delhi today with their hands and feet tied.
The women — Premlata Chawdhary (57) and Nisha alias Saroj Sharma — said to be aunt and niece, were found dead at their Madhu Vihar residence in Mandawali this morning at about 6.00 a.m. by their driver Kishan Pal when he woke up early this morning, according to sources.

Government bungalows: 273 illegal occupants removed
New Delhi, January 24
The Director of Estates today informed the Supreme Court that 224 unauthorised occupants, including former ministers and MPs, still remained in government bungalows while 273 unauthorised occupants had been removed till date.

Man gets 5-year RI for attempt to rape infant
New Delhi, January 24
A local court today sentenced a man to five years’ rigorous imprisonment for attempting to rape his neighbour’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
Additional Sessions Judge N K Gupta also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the convict, Saleem.

No respite from cold wave conditions
New Delhi, January 24
Delhiites today faced yet another cold day as chilly winds brought the mercury down to below normal levels in the Capital and its adjoining areas which were covered by a thin layer of smog.

R-Day Spirit: A child buying a replica of the tricolour from a street vendor in the Capital on Tuesday.
— Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal

New Delhi, January 24
Expressing displeasure over non-removal of illegal occupation from monuments in the Capital, the Delhi High Court today summoned Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Government and Superintending Engineer of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to be present in the court on the next date of hearing.

A Division Bench of Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma asked the senior officials to be present in the court on February 15 for not removing illegal constructions and occupants from the monuments despite receiving a complaint from the ASI.

“There is no tangible result despite our order to restore the pristine glory of these monuments after evicting the illegal occupants,” observed the Judges. Senior counsel Sanjay Jain said out of 172 monuments, 14 had been occupied forcibly after making unauthorised constructions such as living rooms, bath rooms and ‘wujukhana’.

Some people claiming to be ‘maulvis’ have occupied Lal Gumbad in Chirag Delhi, Nili Masjid in Hauz Khas, Tomb of Razia Bagum in Mohalla Bulbuli Khana at Shahjanabad, Palam Mosque, Qudasia Garden Mosque and Sunehri Mosque near Red Fort.

The other monuments which had been occupied are Kashmiri Gate, Purana Qila, Tughlaqabad, Begampuri Masjid, Sarai Shahji near Malviya Nagar, Rajpur Cemetery in North Delhi, D’Eremao Cemetery in Kishanganj and Lothian Road Cemetery in Kashmiri Gate.

Even a ‘dharmshala’ had been constructed by the Agrawal community in the vicinity of monument Hauz-e-Sans in Mehrauli after the cut-off date of July 4, 1992 and wedding ceremonies were being organised there flouting the rules, alleged Mr Jain.

The court directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to evict the illegal occupants and remove the unauthorised structures from these monuments.

Mr Jain said the ASI had already issued more than 500 notices to the illegal occupants and informed the civic authorities. However, the civic authorities did not initiate any action against them, said Mr Jain. He said the ASI was constrained to maintain these 172 centrally protected monuments due to paucity of funds.

Counsel Sidharth Mridul appearing for the Centre said that the government was making provision to sanction more funds to the ASI in the coming budget.

The Court also issued notice to Waqf Board to file a report by the next date of hearing for allegedly taking over some ancient monuments as Waqf property. The MCD, DDA and NDMC were asked to file status reports on these monuments in their respective areas by the next date of hearing.

Faridabad, January 24
Several residential areas of the city and the district have been faced with an acute shortage of water supply. Residents are depending on private water suppliers and even on handpumps in many areas to get water for their daily use as heavy and long cuts in power supply have directly affected the water supply.

Elected members of the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) have appealed to the authorities to take immediate steps to end the crisis.

“Long queues of people could be seen at private handpumps or private water tankers in many parts of the NIT area as the supply by the civic body has fallen during the past about four weeks,” claimed Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Jawahar Colony here, which is one of the largest colonies in the state.

He said while there had been no arrangements on the part of the authorities, the residents were forced to buy even drinking water from the private suppliers.

He said those who could not afford water from private tankers were rushing to the handpumps.

Admitting that there had been a crisis regarding the power supply these days, he said this had resulted in acute shortage of water supply also.

He said while the problem was not much in the HUDA sectors due to the ‘Rainneywell’ supply network, it had assumed serious proportions in non-HUDA colonies in the city.

A large number of complaints had come to his office in the past few days and the people were forced to seek temporary means of supply from private sources, he said and added that he had asked the MCF officials to make arrangements to overcome the crisis.

Claiming that the problem in many areas might have been due to the short supply of power at present, he said the government agencies would have to chalk out a strategy to tide over the water shortage.

He said he would take up the demand of extending the ‘Rainneywell’ scheme to the remaining parts of the town in the next meeting of the civic body.

Another elected member of the MCF also admitted that the problem of water and power supply, apart from broken roads, was still the main issue.

He said the civic body required huge funds and quick decisions to start many development works, which include the water supply and sewerage network. The total population of the city is reported to be around 14 lakhs, of which around half of the population is residing in colonies suffering from the shortage of civic amenities, claimed a local social activist here.

New Delhi, January 24
With Delhi High Court having directed that action be taken against influential people owning alleged illegal constructions, the MCD today said it was studying the legality of properties belonging to as many as 30 politicians.

“We are looking into the legality of constructions belonging to about 30 politicians whose names have appeared in the media,” MCD spokesman Deep Mathur told reporters.

He said this list could go up to 50, but refused to disclose the names of the politicians whose properties were under scrutiny.

A large number of politicos have figured in news for allegedly owning illegal constructions, including Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, DPCC chief Rambabu Sharma, Urban Development Minister A K Walia as well as opposition BJP leaders Jagdish Mukhi and Jai Bhagwan Aggarwal.

On the question of putting up the list of over 18,000 illegal structures on the civic body’s website, which has also been ordered by the Delhi High Court, Mathur said work on preparing the list to be given online was almost done and it would soon be made public.

He added that work was on to prepare the Action Taken Report (ATR) on the demolition drive would be submitted to the Delhi High Court on January 31.

New Delhi, January 24
Three new indigenously composed martial tunes, underscored by the rhythm of the drummers and the plaintive chants of the bagpipers from the military bands of the three services will feature in the Beating Retreat ceremony this year.

14 military bands, 12 pipes and drum bands and 68 buglers from various regiments of the army, besides a band of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, will portray the rich heritage of military customs and traditions at the occasion.

What is unique about this year’s Beating Retreat, symbolising the convergence of military music, smart and agile movements and the traditional attire worn by the military bandsmen, is that it will have three new melodies – ‘Indian Soldiers’ (Quick March), ‘Bombay Sappers’ (Quick March) and ‘Suman Sarit’ (Slow March).

While two of the tunes, ‘Indian Soldiers’ and ‘Suman Sarit’, have been composed by Maj R K Gurung, ‘Bombay Sappers’ is the creative output of Subedar Roop Singh.

President A P J Abdul Kalam will be the chief guest at the ceremony, to be held at Vijay Chowk on January 29 at 5.00 p.m. The Beating Retreat ceremony is part of an age old war tradition that emerged from the need to call in the soldiers at sunset, honour the dead by clearing their bodies during the lull and giving them an appropriate burial in the battlefield. The ceremony commemorates the customary recalling of the soldiers to the camps at sunset by sounding the retreat. As the fighting ceased for the day, the arms were cased and flags lowered.

Adopted by Major Roberts of the Indian Army in the early 1950s, the Beating Retreat has, over the years, emerged as an event of national pride when colours and standards are paraded and honoured and has been receiving overwhelming acclaim at the National and International level.

New Delhi, January 24
With the aim to enhance the credibility of cheques as a medium of exchange, a city court has asked a man to pay up Rs 8.10 lakh as fine after he was found guilty of dishonouring of cheques.

Refusing to give benefit of probation to one Manohar lal, Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Kumar asked him to cough up double the amount of the bounced cheques before February 16 and suspended the six month jail term awarded to him till then.

“Since the cases of dishonour of cases are on the rise in the society and to make the cheques more acceptable, lenient view will not serve a deterrent effect to others,” the court observed.

According to complainant Amarjeet Singh Juneja, a friendly loan of Rs 4.05 lakh was advanced to the convict, a resident of Dilshad Garden in east Delhi.

The convict had issued five cheques of different amounts.

To the utmost shock to Juneja, all the cheques got bounced on presentation.

The court held Lal guilty under section 138 (dishonour of cheques) of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

Meanwhile, in another case, a Delhi court has issued non-bailable warrant against liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya for not being present at the time of hearing in a case of dishonoured cheques by a finance company, which he claimed he had quit much before the incident.

Metropolitan Magistrate Vikas Dhull issued the non-bailable warrant for August 10, against Mallya, Chairman of UB Group, in connection with two cheques for Rs 493 and Rs 379 issued by Krest Finlease Ltd way back in 1998.

However, the UB Group, in a statement maintained that Mallya had resigned from the Board of the company, which was earlier known as McDowell Krest Finance Ltd as early as March 20, 1997 in the midst of the divestment of UB group.

The company was subsequently taken over by one Rayudu Group consequent to the disinvestment, the statement said.

“The UB Group has no knowledge about the case in question much less the possibility of Dr Vijay Mallya having signed a cheque warranting an action leading to the present development. Dr Mallya in fact left the company’s Board in March 1997, a year before the issue of the cheque in question,” the UB statement said.

The court had earlier on January 12 summoned Mallya for January 23 in his capacity as the Chairman of the Mc Dowell Krest Finance Ltd, the Chennai-based company, which has been named as an accused along with Manager Piyush Srivastav.

The action came on a complaint filed by one Mahadevi who claimed she had made a fixed deposit of Rs 30,000 with the company in 1997 allegedly induced by a promise of higher interest rates.

New Delhi, January 24
Taking no chances, Delhi Police has stepped up vigil at cyber cafes across the Capital in its efforts to track down terrorists planning attacks here on the occasion of Republic Day celebrations.

Special checks have been launched at cyber cafes to keep a tab on terrorists accessing the internet, Joint Commissioner (Special Cell) Karnal Singh told reporters here.

The special vigil at cyber cafes comes in the wake of bomb scare at Parliament last month.

Parliament officials and the American embassy had received an e-mail sent from an obscure village in Tamil Nadu sending security apparatus in a tizzy leading to the evacuation of Parliament House on December 16.

District police team along with Special Cell officials have been carrying out checks at guest houses and hotels, and tenant verification drive has also been stepped up to search for terror suspects.

Sale of mobile phone SIM cards is also being monitored closely to ensure that they are not sold without proper verification, Karnal Singh said.

Joint checks in border areas and sensitive parts of the Capital are being carried out to ensure that terrorists do not succeed in their plans, he said.

Gurgaon, January 24
Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) today auctioned its 16 school sites at Rs 103 crore against the reserve price of Rs 29 crore.

Huda administrator S P Gupta informed that a five-acre plot in Sector 43 for school was sold at a price of Rs 40 crore against the reserve price of Rs 10 crore.

It may be recalled that a five-acre plot for a five-star hotel in Sector 29 was auctioned for Rs 28 crore in 2003.

“Today a school site of the same size was sold Rs 40 crore which clearly proves that the business community has established its faith in the present bureaucracy and government,” claimed Mr Gupta.

To give a transparent picture of the auction, we have executed the video recording of all the exercise since the beginning till the fall of the hammer of each auction, added the officer.

The administrator further revealed that Huda had auctioned 10 school sites in 2002 for a price of Rs 19 crore against the reserve price of Rs 17 crore. “But today’s auction of fetching Rs 103 crore for 16 school sites against the reserve price of Rs 29 crore is a clear indication of price rise in Gurgaon like other important metros of the country,” added the officer.

He elaborated that four nursery school plots of 0.2 acre in Sector 9 and 9A was auctioned for Rs 1.15 crore, Rs 1.16 crore, Rs 1.12 crore and Rs 1.21 crore each against the reserve price of Rs 41 lakh.

In sector 47, two plots of 0.25 acre and 1 acre were auctioned for Rs 4 crore and Rs 10 crore against
the reserve price of Rs 53 lakh and Rs 2.52 crore respectively, informed the Huda administrator.

He added that in Sector 38, three plots of 0.2 acre, 1.12 acre and 1 acre were sold at the price of Rs 2.27 crore, Rs 7.53 crore and Rs 5.61 crore against the reserve price of Rs 40 lac, Rs 2.25 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively.

Two more plots in Sector 9 and 9A of size of 1.5 acre and 1 acre were sold at price of Rs 7.2 crore and Rs 6 crore against the reserve price of Rs 3.1 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively.

An auctioneer of a leading school who has taken a plot told ‘The Tribune’ that the prices have skyrocketed here as Gurgaon is fast immerging a leading modern city not only in India but in the world as the best-known ITs and MNCs are coming up here to set up their offices and units.

Faridabad, January 24
A five-year-old minor boy kidnapped from the Paharganj area in New Delhi on Sunday last was recovered from the NIT area here today. The boy had perhaps been abducted for ransom, but the amount sought for his release was not known. The police have arrested one person in this connection, while four others have absconded. The recovery was made following the help of a resident here where the kidnappers had come for a brief stay.

According to information available, the victim, identified as Monty, son of one Ashok Kumar, a businessman residing in the Nabi Karim area of Paharganj in Delhi, was abducted by one Rahees, a person known to the family, on Sunday last from a spot near his house.

While four other persons, identified as Mukim, Mukhtiar, Sharif and Imtiaz, joined the main accused, they kept the boy in the national Capital till yesterday and came to a friend’ house on NH-2 here this morning. While the house owner here, identified as Jamshed was kept in dark about the matter and the boy accompanying them, the latter got suspicious and followed Rahees when he went to a nearby STD PCO for making a call to the parents of the boy.

Jamshed then informed the local police about the matter and this led to the arrest of the main accused. The locals, who had assembled at the spot, also beat him up before handing him over to the police. However, his four accomplices were able to escape before the police reached the house. The police informed the parents of the kid.

Meanwhile, in another incident, a self-styled tantrik was reported to have fled along with a teenaged boy residing in Sector 10 here. The tantrik, who had been operating from a place here, managed to get around 100 gm gold and Rs 5000 in cash, which was brought by the boy, aged around 17 years, from his house. The boy had contacted the tantrik in connection with some problem regarding his studies and had agreed to pay him the valuables and cash as demanded.

Greater Noida, January 24
Four armed bandits on two motorcycles robbed two GNIDA engineers of their car, mobile phones and cash.

The bandits fled via Ghori Bachhera village when police barricaded the route. While escaping, they hit a schoolboy after which villagers chased and caught them at Ramgarh railway crossing.

On finding themselves encircled, the bandits opened fire on the villagers. When they had run out of cartridges, the villagers caught hold of two robbers and thrashed them thoroughly.

The other two were able to flee on the bike. The police have rushed the criminals to hospital. The bandits are from Bulandshahr who carry rewards on their heads. One of them is reported to be a village pradhan.

A road is under construction in Chi Fi sector under Kasna police station. Greater Noida authority’s senior manager P.K. Kaushal and two engineers Karan Singh and Ramveer Singh were inspecting the work when four bandits riding two bikes came there at 1 pm.

They whipped out revolvers and snatched Rs 12,000, two wristwatches, a cell phone and a gold chain from them. When manager Kaushal tried to resist the criminals, they trained their guns on him. While leaving, they drove Karan Singh’s Maruti car also. The police were immediately informed, who put up the barricades, but the robbers had fled through Ramgarh Road.

On being caught, the criminals identified themselves as Birinder, alias Situ, son of Mahavir of Aurangabad; and Krishen, son of Dharamveer Singh of Bulandshahr. While two criminals are Krishenpal and Badal, Birender is a village chief. Krishen had been awarded a life sentence for murder. They carry a reward of Rs 2,500 each on their heads. Their gang is very active in western UP and wanted for 17 cases of murders, loots, dacoity, etc. The gang had looted Rs 10 lakh from a bank in Anup Shahr in 2005, police said.

However, the defeated candidate, Mr D. B. Anand, alleged there was bogus voting in the election and that was why they had complained to the Returning Officer, Mr J. S. Daweja, to cancel the election in the afternoon itself.

The persons belonging to the Rathi group even misbehaved with the ladies who came to vote. He alleged that Ms Uma Wig and Ms Nimi Khanna who were contesting for executive committee members for their phase were treated badly. The police were also called in and they were unable to control the bogus voting, alleged Mr Anand.

Mr Anand was the general secretary in the previous body where Mr Rathi was the president. However he decided to contest against Mr Rathi. Mr Anand asserted to ‘The Tribune’ that the resident welfare association had to be in agreement with the developer if it intended to provide better infrastructure and facilities for the residents. “We cannot and should not fight with the developer,” added Mr Anand.

Mr Rathi said allegations of bogus voting were baseless as the margin between the winner and loser was very high. Mr Rathi further alleged the promoter of the colony, DLF Universal Limited, had promoted Mr D. B. Anand and the developer wanted him to win.

“But the residents of DLF city do not want to elect the representatives of DLF Qutab Enclave Resident Welfare Association who are in the favour of the developer and that was why they voted in favour of us who have become bete noire of the developer,” he asserted. There were around 2600 members in the association, out of which around 40 per cent exercised their votes today. The office-bearers were elected for two years.

“There is another resident association in the DLF City, DLF City Resident Welfare Association, which was promoted by the developer around four years back, which was formed at the time of the inception of the colony, since we did not toe their line,” added Mr R. S. Rathi.

Bulandshahr, January 24
When three marriage parties reached the marriage venue in Bibi Nagar here they were welcomed with pomp and show and traditional warmth by the bride’s side.

The marriage ceremonies of two couples had gone through. But when the third marriage was to be solemnised, the groom refused to sit down for the ceremony. The reason: he had come to know that the bride’s side belonged to a lower caste.

Confusion and commotion reigned for some time. The panchayat was summoned which declared the father of the brides was to be slapped five times across the face while the father of the grooms would have to pay a fine of Rs 25,000. The incident has shocked the whole area.

Jaspal and Vijaypal (not real names) of Bibi Nagar had arranged the marriages of their three daughters with the sons of Thakur Durjan Singh (not the real name) of Bhansrili village under the Agota police station.

The marriage parties of the three grooms reached the house of the girls’ parents on Sunday where they were welcomed in the traditional way. Two marriages were solemnised but when the third couple was to sit on the marriage platform the groom refused, alleging that parents of the brides had concealed the fact that they belonged to a lower caste. This resulted in a furore.

The village panchayat was summoned. The panchayat ruled that the girls’ fathers should be slapped five times across the face while the father of the groom should pay a fine of Rs 25,000 to the girls’ side. Even the two grooms, who had completed the marriage ceremonies, were to return without brides.

The middleman, who had arranged the marriages, had misled both the parties by concealing their real castes. Seeing the situation getting out of hand, he slipped away quietly.

Noida, January 24
The police claim to have busted a gang whose modus operandi was to hitch a ride in a vehicle, give drug-laced eatables to the driver and conductor and then take away the vehicle.

The police have arrested the gang leader and three other members of the gang. A mini-truck, a Maruti car and an electroplating machine have been recovered from the arrested criminals.

According to SSP Mordia, the police had been getting reports of vehicles being taken away in this fashion since many days. Surveillance was intensified on suspicious characters. The SOG and the Sector 49 police arrested four criminals at the Sector 50 crossing in Noida on the basis of a tip-off. They were identified as Amit of Secunderabad, Neeraj of Dadri, Rajit from Dankore and Riku.

The police recovered a Delhi mini-truck 407, a Maruti car taken away by criminals from Atta Pir under the Sector 20 police station here and a computer and electroplating machine stolen from Secunderabad.

Amit is the gang leader. The modus operandi of the gang members was that they would request for a lift and get into the vehicles. After befriending the drivers on the way, they would offer him liquor or drug-laced eatables. They would drop him by the roadside and flee with the vehicle. The police are trying to nab other members of the gang.

The Sector 24 police arrested four more auto thieves, Manjoj Mukar, Amit, Sarkar and Veermar Sarkar, at the Reliance crossing. Two stolen motorcycles were recovered from them. A .315 revolver and a knife were also seized from these criminals.

Noida-Ghaziabad, January 24
The UP police in Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar districts are on high alert in connection with Republic Day. The borders of these two UP districts with the national Capital will be sealed from tomorrow evening in connection with the Republic Day Parade on January 26.

The police have already stepped up vigilance on borders with Delhi. Buses, taxis, three-wheelers and private vehicles going to Delhi or coming from Delhi are being checked.

Police teams along with the Seemapuri police are checking the slum clusters.

Special vigilance has been mounted on public places like bus stand, railway stations, malls, multiplex cinema houses, markets, hospitals, etc. Sensitive locations, mohallas and religious places are also under the scanner.

Suspicious-looking persons are being questioned or even frisked. Even the drivers of cars and two-wheelers are also being checked.

In the process, some minors driving vehicles have been apprehended.

In Ghaziabad across Hindon and border areas are especially being checked by security agencies in connection with the Republic Day. All the slums along the roadside from Seemapuri to Anand Vihar were searched on Sunday, the police said.

A number of criminals, bad characters, suspected terrorists and Bangladeshi suspects were rounded up or kept under close scrutiny. Vehicle check and high alert will continue till the Republic Day evening, the police said.

Ghaziabad, January 24
Set to log on to cyberspace, the district police is planning to computerise all police stations and allow filing of first information reports via the internet - saving the common man a trip to the local ‘thana’.

All police stations in the district would be computerised soon and the ones at Sahibabad and Indirapuram would be linked with a modernised control room via computers on a priority basis, Senior
Superintendent of Police J N Singh said here today.

He said it would then be possible for citizens to file FIRs sitting at home or at cybercafes instead of trudging along to a police station.

“With the computerisation of police stations, it will not be mandatory for the complainant to come to police station. The public can visit the website of Ghaziabad police at www.ghaziabadpolice.org for the requisite details,” he said.

New Delhi, January 24
Two elderly women were found murdered in Mandawali area of East Delhi today with their hands and feet tied.

The women — Premlata Chawdhary (57) and Nisha alias Saroj Sharma — said to be aunt and niece, were found dead at their Madhu Vihar residence in Mandawali this morning at about 6.00 a.m. by their driver Kishan Pal when he woke up early this morning, according to sources.

Their hands and feet were tied and there were marks on their neck. Last night, three men along with a girl had visited them and reportedly had drinks before leaving, sources added. Both had recently shifted to Mandawali from Dilshad Garden. Nisha, who would call Premlata her ‘mausi’ (aunt), has a 25-year-old son. Her husband had died some ten years back.

New Delhi, January 24
The Director of Estates today informed the Supreme Court that 224 unauthorised occupants, including former ministers and MPs, still remained in government bungalows while 273 unauthorised occupants had been removed till date.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Mr Justice B N Agarwal and Mr Justice A K Mathur directed the Centre to file counter reply in two months to the petitions filed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and an intervention application moved by one Mr S D Bandi.
— TNS

New Delhi, January 24
Delhiites today faced yet another cold day as chilly winds brought the mercury down to below normal levels in the Capital and its adjoining areas which were covered by a thin layer of smog.

The North Westerly winds, blowing since yesterday, brought the minimum temperature to 6.4 degrees Celsius, which was two degrees below normal, the Weather Office said.

A thin layer of smog enveloped parts of the Capital, which had experienced balmy weather for most of the last week when maximum temperatures touched 27 degrees Celsius.
— TNS